Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in School Consultant for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), 6 months, Pohnpei, FSM.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, water.

We operate in the Pacific, specifically in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth. They inhabit more than 660 islands and atolls that stretch across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean. This area is comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria.

All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, only a third are on track with reporting obligations. You can explore the different areas of our work at the link provided here: www.unicef.org/pacificislands .

Background of Assignment: 

Every child is inherently entitled to life, survival, and development. The escalating climate crisis significantly challenges these rights, particularly impacting children’s well-being globally. In this era of climate change, it is imperative to invest in essential services such as Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). These services are vital in helping school-aged children adapt to environmental changes while ensuring their health and well-being.

In the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), a high-risk country for health issues, limited access to basic water and sanitation services, coupled with inadequate nutrition and underdeveloped health systems, poses serious challenges. Climate change exacerbates these challenges, especially concerning water availability and safety. The WHO (World Health Organization) Country Profile for FSM highlights a dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, influenced by environmental and socio-economic factors. Diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, and hepatitis B are prevalent and linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. Moreover, climate change can intensify health risks from both communicable and non-communicable diseases by affecting the transmission patterns of vector-borne and waterborne diseases, as well as impacting food and water quality, and increasing exposure to heat stress and extreme weather events.

Data from the recent 2022 school accreditation assessment indicates concerning gaps in school facilities. Of the 157 schools assessed, 13% failed to meet the standards for campus, classrooms, and facilities, including WASH provisions. Additionally, 47% only achieved minimum standards in these areas. This indicates that nearly 60% of the assessed schools are either non-compliant or barely meeting necessary requirements. The assessment identifies a lack of capacity in school planning and budgeting as a key factor driving these statistics. Over a quarter of the schools did not meet the standards in school improvement planning, and 44% only met the minimum requirements. This highlights the crucial link between effective planning, budget allocation, and the maintenance of essential services like WASH.

To effectively tackle these challenges, it is essential to integrate WASH services into the core of school planning and budgeting processes. The current landscape reveals a critical gap in schools’ ability to plan, budget, and implement sustainable WASH solutions. This gap not only hinders the provision of basic hygiene facilities but also impacts the overall health and learning environment for students. There is an urgent requirement for a structured approach that empowers school authorities with the knowledge and tools to prioritize WASH in their developmental plans. Addressing this need involves building capacity for strategic planning, allocating sufficient resources, and ensuring long-term maintenance of WASH facilities. This strategic inclusion of WASH in school plans and budgets is key to creating a resilient, healthy, and conducive learning environment for the children of FSM.

How can you make a difference? 

The consultant is expected to provide technical support to achieve the consultancy’s objectives, while ensuring that the process is led and owned by the schools and FSM’s Department of Education at both National and State Level.  

The purpose of this consultancy is to:

• Identify and analyze bottlenecks in school WASH planning and budgeting, understanding the underlying issues and formulating potential solutions to sustain WASH services in schools.
• Provide guidance to school management on effective WASH planning and budgeting strategies.

The consultant will be supervised by the WASH Specialist, UNICEF North Pacific Office. Additional supervision and operational guidance will be provided by UNICEF North Pacific Chief of Field Office. The consultancy will be office based with travel to the states in FSM.

Please refer to the ToR  TOR WASH in School Consultant for FSM.pdf for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:

All applications for this consultancy must include a separate financial offer along with the technical proposal.

The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly/Daily consultancy fees – based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference
• Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel)
• Living allowance where travel is required
• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Education:  

• A college associate or university degree in one of the following fields is required:  public health, social sciences, behavior change communication, sanitary engineering, or another relevant technical field.  Completed secondary education, supplemented by technical or university courses related to the field of work, may be considered in lieu of a university degree, together with two additional years of relevant professional experience.

Experience, Skills and Language:  

• A minimum of two years of professional experience in WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required.
• Experience working in FSM and demonstrated familiarity with school planning processes at both National and state level are preferred. 
• Advanced writing skills and ability to synthesize complex information and issues.  
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking.  
• Previous experience working for UNICEF or another international organization an asset.  
• Ability to work effectively with others.  
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here

Remarks:  

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process for this consultancy.